Chapter 54

Countdown to Thunderbolt

The Planet

Day 24: Our transport down to the planet from the ship was met by several of the gun-carrying mercenaries who regularly patrol through the camp. One would think that they fear at any moment murderous natives might burst from the trees and attempt to slaughter us or perhaps it is wild animals they fear. I can't imagine where I got the idea that these men might help us with our gear, but I've learned very quickly that on the surface, it's very much every man (or woman) for himself (or herself).

My first afternoon was spent setting up quarters in the big medical tent. Privacy is rather limited and the walls of our "rooms" consist of flaps strung around our cots. I am the only physician. I have two medical assistants, one of whom is trained in surgical procedures. Should a catastrophe occur, however, we will evacuate the injured to the Hyperion instead of trying to deal with them here on the surface.

Day 30: I have so far treated insect stings and a non-poisonous snake bite which in my opinion could have been avoided since the man bitten was observed carrying the snake around and using it to taunt some of the crew. I have given out anti-diarrheal medication, stitched up several minor cuts and removed splinters. In short, no medical crises have occurred.

Expeditions go out daily in small ships to look for mineral deposits and other "wealth" that might make this planet worthwhile for commercial purposes. Other expeditions are gathering samples of the flora and fauna. I understand these will be analyzed for genetic similarities to our own planets. Others look for evidence of prior settlements other than the ruined city.

The most exciting find in my opinion came from yesterday's mission that explored a small clearing not too far from here. Stone foundations were found for what might have been a small temple built from wood. Several shards of pottery were also found as well as part of a candlestick. What wasn't found were any statues of the gods of the Twelve Tribes. That makes me even more certain that the vanished inhabitants worshiped one God. Now to find the proof.

Unpublished Manuscript (Notes) by Aimee Singh, MD, PhD

.

The surveillance equipment had been set up downstairs at the old officer's club in a smaller room that had once housed several triad tables and a small bar. The tables and bar had been moved to the new officer's club, but the years of cigar and cigarette smoke that had been absorbed by the carpet now gave back a stale, musty odor. A long table containing several monitors and other equipment had been placed against the back wall. The technicians had worked all night to get the setup completed and had gotten the job done. The kitchen, living room and hallway of D'Anna's apartment were wired for sound and video.

When John entered the room shortly after noon, Major Parker was already seated in front of one of the monitors.

"How did the planning session go this morning?" Parker asked.

"The rest of them aren't happy about the addition to our team. I tried to tell Laura that nobody trusts Natasi. I don't trust her either, but we're stuck with her."

"She's got a strong incentive to help us."

"The only one of the Sixes I really trust is Natalie…and maybe Sonja. She did help us get away. If the government is so sure of Natasi's loyalty, why isn't she free like Sharon and Leoben?"

"Because she has yet to admit any regret for the holocaust. In the beginning she refused to cooperate with any of us. It wasn't until Attorney General Lampkin talked to her that we got anything from her. It seems he knew the two magic words. Gaius Baltar."

"Gaius Baltar won't be with us on this mission."

"But he'll be waiting for her when it's over."

John gave Parker a skeptical look. "How sure would that make you feel if you were being asked to trust her with the lives of your team?"

Parker was spared from answering the question because the door of D'Anna's apartment opened. D'Anna and Bianca walked in. D'Anna was carrying Rachel.

John lowered his voice even though he knew the audio wasn't two-way. "Bianca is showing D'Anna some things about babies."

"How is D'Anna doing?"

"She looks okay. She even says she feels okay, but Dr. Delos says she's got something called early onset pre-eclampsia. There's no cure for it except delivery."

"A teacher friend of Kim's had that. Sadly it didn't have a good outcome."

"Mother or baby?"

"Baby. It had to be delivered early to save the mother's life. It was too early."

"Dr. Delos said D'Anna needs to make it at least six more weeks for the baby to stand a chance. Even then it's questionable that the baby would survive a delivery that early. I'll be gone by then."

"I'm sure Dr. Cardenas will watch her carefully."

John said. "My son might be born while I'm away. Who knows when I'll be back or even if I'll come back? Who knows how long it will take us to free the human slaves on Nereid and secure the planet for the coalition government Laura wants to set up."

"None of us knows the future, John. You've got a choice. You can lead the mission or you can stay here. After all you went through on the planet, nobody will fault you if you decide to stay here."

"I will."

They sat in silence and watched Rachel cooing as Bianca sang a nursery rhyme to her. John marveled at the gift Bianca had with children…and adults, too. She had taken care of Braedon's cut chin Saturday afternoon and managed to calm him and Laura at the same time. She was a healer in the truest sense of the word. He'd made her a promise back on Nereid. He'd promised her she'd see her husband again one day. He intended to keep that promise.

"The Cylons don't know anything about babies," John said. "There was never anything in their programming about raising children. I met a young Eight on Nereid named Jade. She thinks their creators had no plans for them to procreate since they've given them the ability to download. Lucy said the creators had plans to continue creating different models. She never mentioned increasing their chances of having children by improving their plumbing."

There was a knock on the door of D'Anna's apartment. Bianca opened it to an MP who then stood back and allowed Sharon Agathon to enter the room. She had Hera in a baby sling that looked like a big apron top. They could see Hera's little feet in pink booties sticking out the bottom.

"Sister," D'Anna said with real warmth in her voice.

"Hello, D'Anna."

The MP retreated and shut the door.

"I'm Bianca Cardenas. May we see your little girl? I hear she's a dark-eyed little beauty."

"We think so," Sharon beamed as she sat down between Bianca and D'Anna and unfastened the sling. "Hera is almost nine weeks old but she came six weeks early. She's still small."

"Rachel is the same age," Bianca said.

The two children were now side by side and John could see the difference in their sizes. Rachel was clearly bigger than Hera.

Parker said, "Hera looks a lot like Leah did when she was born, but then Kim and Sharon have similar features…except Kim is about five inches shorter than Sharon."

"You know in the monotheistic scriptures," John said, "Leah is one of the protectors of the peacemaker."

Parker didn't say anything for a while. "Leah is a popular name on Caprica right now. There's another little girl in my daughter's kindergarten class named Leah."

John said. "Lots of Leahs to choose from."

Sharon had handed Hera to Bianca who was talking to her. Hera clasped her little hands together and gave Bianca a gurgling smile.

"What do we expect to learn today?" John asked.

"We're not sure, but we couldn't pass up the opportunity. I've asked Bianca to leave when Natasi arrives. I'd like for D'Anna and Natasi and Sharon to be able to spend some time together. I think if there's going to be anything worth listening to, it will happen when the three Cylons are alone."

Twenty minutes later the door opened again and Natasi was admitted. She was wearing dark slacks and a white shirt and looked so much like Sonja that John felt like he was seeing a ghost. Memories of his and Sonja's tumultuous relationship filled his thought for a moment and then he reminded himself that this Cylon was not Sonja.

As if reading his mind, Parker said, "There's no denying she's a beautiful woman. If it makes you feel any better, I'm not sure under the same circumstances that I could have resisted her either."

John nodded slightly in acknowledgement. Parker was a nice-looking man. Sonja would no doubt have attempted to seduce him.

"Sisters," Natasi said. "This must be the doctor Romo told me about." She looked Bianca up and down. "You remind me a little bit of someone, but she was much older than you when I knew her."

"Who?" D'Anna asked.

Natasi smiled. "Amanda Graystone, one of the creators. Search your memory, sisters. She's the First Mother. She should be in your minds."

D'Anna shook her head. "I was boxed for a long time. Too much was done to me. I know the voices of the creators when I put my hand in the datastream, but I can't remember their faces."

Sharon looked at Bianca closely and finally said, "Yes, I see it now. The shape of her face and her eyes. The First Mother died very shortly after I was created. The First Father died seven months later."

"I knew them," Natasi said. "They had brilliant minds but neither was as brilliant as their daughter Zoe in creating the centurions."

"I remember her," Sharon said. "Zoe was one of my creators. So was Lucy."

Natasi smiled and addressed Bianca. "My brothers and sisters on the homeworld were kind to you, were they not?"

Bianca stood. "They allowed my husband and me to treat the sick humans. We were never beaten or made to work in the fields, but our supplies were woefully inadequate for the task we faced. Now I should take Rachel and let you three have some time alone."

"Please leave her with us for a few minutes," Natasi said. "I'd like to hold her."

"I don't like it," John said and stood.

Parker held up his hand. "Hold on a minute. Rachel will be okay. She's half-Cylon just like Hera. Natasi won't hurt her."

"I hope the hell not…or us taking a Cylon on the mission won't be a concern anymore. I couldn't pull the trigger with Sonja, but if this one hurts Rachel, I'll kill her with my bare hands."

"Sit down, John," Parker said. "You're over-reacting. If we had any indication that she would harm the child, she wouldn't be here. You should know I wouldn't put that baby's life in danger."

John sat. Parker was right. He'd overreacted. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Rachel will be fine with us," D'Anna said. "She's our sister, too, just like Hera."

"I'll be back in half an hour to get her," Bianca said and left.

Natasi sat down between Sharon and D'Anna. Her voice took on a softness that John had never heard in Sonja's.

"I haven't held a child since I was preaching in the old warehouse. Please. Let me hold one of them."

Sharon carefully placed Hera in her arms, but where Bianca had gotten a smile from the baby, Natasi got the opposite. If any residual memory had been triggered in Hera by Bianca's resemblance to Amanda Graystone, there was no memory of the Six. Hera's little face puckered and she began to cry. Sharon took her and Hera quieted.

Rachel was far more used to being held by different people. D'Anna placed the child in Natasi's arms, and John watched the Cylon's face transform.

"I hoped it would happen for me and Gaius," she said so softly that the audio barely picked up her words. "Every time Gaius and I are together, I pray that it's happened and every month I'm disappointed."

"You want a baby?" Sharon asked.

"Why does that surprise you?" Natasi asked in her normal tone of voice.

"Everybody thinks I was trying to get pregnant," Sharon said. "I had no idea it would happen with me and Karl. Then I had a lot of problems."

"I was trying," D'Anna said. She smiled at her sister. "Is Gaius a good lover? John is a very good lover. Sonja couldn't get enough of him and she's had a lot of men. I was never with anyone but John."

"Do I have to listen to this?" John asked.

"No."

"I'm going to make coffee. Do you want some?"

"Sure."

John went up to his apartment, put on a fresh pot of coffee and sat down to wait. The women were in D'Anna's apartment just down the hall from him. He started to go across the hall and talk to Bianca and changed his mind. He didn't want anyone to open the door and catch him up there. When the coffee was ready, he poured two mugs, turned off the coffee maker and went back downstairs. He tapped the door with his foot and Parker let him in.

"Anything important?"

"No," Parker said. "They've been talking about babies. Sharon related all the details of her issues and how Dr. Delos saved her life and little Hera's. She's a fountain of information compared to the other two. She even showed them how she breastfeeds, but Hera wasn't too hungry."

"What's going to happen to Rachel?" Natasi asked her sisters.

"I don't know," D'Anna answered. "Nobody has talked to me about that. On Nereid a human named Petra took her after her mother killed herself. Rachel's father was a Two. John had to kill him so we could escape. I'm sure he downloaded."

"She belongs with us," Natasi said while she gently stroked Rachel's soft blond fuzzy hair. "She's one of the protectors of the peacemaker. Laura Roslin promised me that if I help them, she'll let Gaius and me go to the homeworld. I could raise her."

"What about the Two who's her biological father?" D'Anna asked.

"I'll talk to him. A child needs a mother and a father. He could visit her anytime he wants."

Sharon asked, "Have you discussed your plan with Dr. Baltar? Somehow I can't see him relishing the role of daddy, especially for a half-breed child that isn't his."

"I haven't seen Gaius in several weeks. I'm supposed to see him again this weekend and every weekend until the mission leaves. That's part of the bargain."

"Is he as self-centered and egotistical as everybody says he is?" Sharon asked.

"Everybody doesn't know him like I do," Natasi snapped. "Gaius Baltar is a brilliant man. He has so much on his mind that he just seems to be self-centered. He's very different when he's with me. In fact some of what looks like arrogance is really insecurity. He comes from very humble beginnings and he's ashamed of it. When he's with me, he knows I don't judge him except for the wonderful man he is."

John glanced at Parker who just shook his head as if to say, how can an intelligent woman be so dumb about a man?

"Are you really going to help our men?" Sharon asked.

"Yes. Laura has a plan for our homeworld. We're going to co-exist there. She's going to let D'Anna take our peacemaker back there to live."

"What about John?" D'Anna asked. "He's my baby's father. He wants to raise the child with me."

"She said John would go with you," Natasi said. "She realizes that his place is with you and your child. She and Romo told me that he would go back with you after your son is born."

"That's interesting," John said to Parker. "Laura never mentioned that to me."

"I'd take that statement with a grain of salt if I were you. Natasi is no fool. I'm sure she assumed D'Anna's apartment is under surveillance. Besides, even if Laura and Romo told her that, it was only to gain her cooperation."

"It would still have been nice if she'd mentioned it to me first."

"She didn't do herself any favors giving McManus that interview. I talked to Agent Darren this morning. One of the duties of his team is to monitor all the correspondence that comes into Marble House from the public…phone calls, emails and letters. Sentiment is running overwhelmingly against her decision to try to form a peaceful union with the Cylons after we free the human slaves on Nereid. Opinion on the prophecy is running about fifty-fifty but the strongly religious tend to make their opinions known on issues concerning faith so if you factor in the apathetic group who will never bother to express an opinion, it's about the same ratio."

"I told Laura she'd made a mistake. I think she should have told McManus to go frak himself and then let him publish what he wanted. Instead she goes and gives that sleaze-bag credibility."

"Darren and his men read and listen to everything. They don't investigate anyone unless they voice a threat."

Parker tapped a couple of keys on his laptop and then entered a user id and a password. He brought up a database and then a page full of small images. He selected one and it filled the screen. It was a picture of Laura making a speech. Someone had used photo-enhancing software to create the image of a very realistic crosshairs from a long-range rifle scope over her face.

"There was a sharp increase in images like this after McManus aired the interview," Parker said. "The Marble House email site got six similar images in the space of about an hour. All came from computers in large internet cafés. They're almost impossible to trace. We've suggested surveillance software to the proprietors or even just plain old security cameras, but we can't force them. They're private companies. They feel like surveillance would hurt business."

John was staring at the photo of Laura in the crosshairs. He had a hard time getting his breath for a minute. "Damn."

"There's a core group of loonies and radicals out there who send these to most public officials. There's an upsurge every Tuesday and Wednesday after the Quorum meets on Monday. After Adar surrendered to the Cylons, he got tens of thousands of them. The Cylons made no attempt catch the perpetrators. They wouldn't have cared if someone had shot him. The only thing we've got going for us is that while the Cylons were in power, they took a great many guns out of the hands of the people. Gun crimes were punishable with immediate centurion execution."

"Sovana is overrun with weapons right now so that doesn't make me feel much better."

Parker finally said, "I'm afraid that living with the threats of…dissidents, radicals, terrorists…whatever you want to call them…goes with the top job. This isn't the first time she's received threats. Increasing the military presence in Sovana brought a rash of them."

"Laura told me that the Quorum members were upset that she hadn't talked to them before she gave the interview. She said Tom Zarek was livid and accused her of running a dictatorship based on her personal religious beliefs. Sarah Porter, Marta Shaw and Marshall Bagot were more understanding. They all have children. Porter is very religious. The other members were somewhere in between them and Zarek."

"With the religious prophecy added to the mix, this has turned into a very divisive issue. I'm afraid we're going to be dealing with the fallout for months to come. I'm sure a lot of people won't settle down until everything is over and we bring those human slaves home. There's another group that will never settle down as long as there's a Cylon alive in the universe. Most of them are satisfied to send anonymous threats. It makes them feel like they're doing something about issues over which they have virtually no control. Some of them are obviously mentally unbalanced. It's the small minority who don't threaten and aren't certifiably crazy that Darren and his agents have to try to second-guess. Edgar and his staff as well. The President's safety is their responsibility. You can bet he and Darren's team will be working closer than ever now."

"I wish our mission started tomorrow," John said. "I want to see those first human slaves getting off a transport on Caprica. I want to see some of them reunited with loved ones. Laura is a good and decent person. She cares about the people, especially the children. That's the kind of publicity she needs."

"I couldn't agree more," Parker said.

...

The Argos Bombing Range was a big scar on the landscape just before the beginning of the massive heartland of Caprica, the heartland that produced the planet's food and that had fortunately been largely untouched by the holocaust six years earlier.

Kara now navigated toward the range. Thirty years earlier a raging forest fire had burned hundreds of thousands of acres in an area near the military base of Fort Thalia. The burnt-out area had been turned into a bombing range rather than being replanted with trees. Some skeptics accused the military of torching the forest in order to gain a place to test new aerial weapons, but a panel made up of civilian scientists and an arson investigator had determined that the fire had been started by lightning and stoked by high winds and several seasons of near-drought conditions.

However the range had come into being, it was now almost seventy-five square miles of hillocks and gullies dotted with old burnt-out tanks and armored personnel carriers and other vehicles that had been stripped of parts and placed as practice targets in all kinds of terrain. During the Cylon occupation of Caprica, the range had been unused and Kara had heard that when it was once again activated, soldiers had to drive through the range for days attempting to run off the wildlife that had taken over the old shells of vehicles. She didn't doubt that at all. While she and Karl had lived at the little stone house, she'd seen how adaptive a lot of the local wildlife had become. She'd used it to her advantage when she'd been hunting for food with her slingshot.

As Kara circled north for her approach, she could see for many miles. In the far distance the land turned from eroded and sun-baked mud and scrub grass into a soft beige, the edge of a vast wheat field. In their briefing that morning as Colonel Spencer had projected maps of the area onto the screen, he had warned them to stay well south of the fields.

He had related a story about a farmer's ancient but operable tractor that was parked on the edge of the range having been mistaken for a target and shot up by a Viper pilot. Fortunately the farmer hadn't been on it at the time. The pilot, Spencer had said, was now flying cargo in and out of Antioch and Sovana. There had been a collective groan as he had warned them again to stay away from the wheat fields.

Kara reached the northern apex of her first run, banked her turn to the south and left her thoughts of the past behind. In less than a minute she was in a zone of concentration that was almost like tunnel vision. Her eyes flicked over the Mark VII's instruments reading numbers and gauges while she processed the information and calculated range to target. Her kinetic energy weapons were armed with live ammunition that she was actually going to get to use.

"Target acquired," she said into her helmet wireless as she kept the ground clearly in her sights. One wrong move at this altitude and she and her Viper would be a mass of twisted and smoking metal that would be indistinguishable from some of the other ruins on the ground.

Trying to pretend that the rusted-out tank was a group of hostile centurions, Kara flipped up the safety switch, slipped her finger over the weapon's trigger and eased it against the button. She realized there was a huge difference, though, in a rusted-out tank and a group of centurions. The old tank wasn't firing back at her.

The computer did its work. The guns were perfectly calibrated. She kept the Mark VII dead on target. Bullets chewed the ground and sliced through the already decimated metal. She was almost sure a big chuck fell off the tank as she flashed by and put the Viper into a steep climb, feeling the Gs force her back in the seat. She loved this. She loved everything about it and knew she always would.

Somewhere behind her she knew Lee was in the line of ships yet to try to hit one of the targets. He would do well. He was a good pilot. She'd flown with him. He wasn't quite as crazy as she was, nor quite as prone to take chances, but he was still good. She knew that they would do this many times for the next five or six weeks until the recon mission left for Nereid. They would be ready, as ready as they could possibly be.

...

"How's Braedon's chin?" Bill asked Laura as they sat on the couch in her sitting room Wednesday evening. "John told me about the accident."

"Healing nicely," Laura said. "It's was a major production Sunday night to change the bandage, but Maya and I managed it. Now he's just got a big Band-Aid on it. I think he's actually quite proud of himself. He shows everyone. I hope he's learned his lesson about standing up in his stroller."

Bill poured two drinks and handed her one. "I wouldn't count on it. Zak was always climbing on one thing or another even when he got hurt doing it. Before he was eight he'd broken an arm, given himself a concussion and sprained an ankle…all at different times. The concussion was the most serious, but he bounced back. I think he was seven. He was climbing a tree in our backyard and a limb broke. He went right down on his head. He's lucky he didn't break his neck. I was on Picon. I made it home in time to sit up all night in the hospital with him. Carolanne couldn't handle it. She took Lee to his grandparents' house and went home. Lee wanted to stay with Zak. I'll never forget him crying and begging me to let him stay. I think he thought I was sending him away to punish him for letting Zak fall out of the tree. I told him I didn't blame him but it didn't console him at all."

"My younger brother Andrew was far less adventurous," Laura said. "He was very good at math and all things computer-related. He was on the track team at school. He ran cross country, but he was far from the typical high school jock. I'm sure Andy had some sprains and strains but I don't remember any serious injuries. I always wondered what he would have done when he finished at the university if…" she sighed..."if he hadn't died along with my parents in that suicide bombing."

Bill took a swallow of his drink. "Lee's been reading my father's old journals. I'd never even opened those boxes from Dad's law office. I'm not sure I'd have given them to him if I'd known those journals were in there, but I can't blame him now that the Graystones have been revealed as the main creators of the skinjobs. Parker told me Natasi referred to them as First Father and First Mother."

"Is that why you didn't want Lee reading them?" Laura asked and smiled. "Or do think they contain some deep, dark family secrets?"

Bill smiled slightly. "A little of both. I had a brother, too, William, called Willie. He died before I was born. In the old Tauron tradition, I was given his name."

"What happened to him?" Laura asked gently.

"Neither of my parents told me the details, but it had something to do with my Uncle Sam. I always thought I'd ask him one day, but Sam moved back to Tauron when I was still young. He visited, but he never stayed long."

"Was he on Tauron when the Cylons attacked?"

"Tauron City. It took a direct hit from a number of bombs. I hope he never felt a thing."

"I'm sorry. Tauron is a place of pain for both of us."

Bill finished the drink. "Did you ever meet my mother Evelyn?" He asked without looking at her.

"Yes," Laura said and then sipped from her drink.

Evelyn Adama had promised her she'd never tell Bill about their meeting, but maybe she had. The moment stretched. Laura tried to decide if he knew and finally decided that he didn't.

She took another sip. "I went to see her after my father told me you'd gotten married. I won't say that I didn't believe him, but considering the circumstances under which you and I parted…" Laura let the sentence hang. She doubted Bill Adama would ever forget that day any more than she would. "Evelyn was very gracious. She asked me in and offered me tea. She liked a particular blend of green tea from Libran. I thought we had a connection because that was also my mother's favorite tea. Evelyn told me that it was true…you'd gotten married. She also told me why. She was kind but quite firm. She told me to forget you and get on with my life. She told me I had a great future ahead of me. She said all the things my own mother should have said to me but didn't. I'd disappointed my mother so much that she barely spoke to me for most of the semester."

"I disappointed Evelyn and my father both. She didn't have much to say to me until Lee was born. The minute she walked into the hospital and saw her grandson, the ice melted. She and Carolanne never got along, but a lot of that was Carolanne's fault." He sat for a minute lost in the past. "My mother never told me she'd talked to you."

"She promised me that she wouldn't. That was so long ago. I was a foolish young girl."

"You were never foolish, Laura. That honor belongs to me."

She smiled. "Billy managed to call me foolish about six times today without saying the word. He was referring to my interview with James McManus. He said if he'd had any idea of what I was going to say beforehand, he'd have strongly advised against it. He said that when he prepared that list of scripture verses, he thought they were for my own use, not to be handed to someone like McManus. Billy said he's my press secretary and he felt hurt that I hadn't talked to him first about the content of the interview. He's right. I should have."

"I wish you hadn't talked to McManus either…simply because of the furor it's caused. You certainly gave Agent Darren's team enough to keep them busy for a long time."

"Yes, I'm sorry about that, but I feel like the people have a right to know what we're doing. How are the plans for the mission coming along?"

"We've made progress. Parker tells me that you and Lampkin agreed to allow Natasi to move in with D'Anna."

"It made sense. Natasi seemed eager to do it. Her security was turned over to the military at the same time she was. We've freed up the agents who were guarding her and also freed an apartment in the city. Bianca said D'Anna is happy to have a sister with her. Natasi is very glad to spend some time each day with Rachel. Natasi will be included in some of the planning meetings so the security concerns of getting her to and from the airbase are eliminated. Romo and I saw it as a win all the way around. Fortunately Major Parker agreed with us."

"Natasi's knowledge of their homeworld is over six years old." Bill reminded her.

"True, but she's one of the first model Sixes created…not the first, but one of the first…or so says D'Anna. Natasi knows the minds of most of her brothers and sisters on Nereid far better than Sharon who was one of the last ones created. D'Anna has been boxed for most of her time on the planet and Leoben has no memory of their homeworld. Natasi's knowledge might be six years old, but at least she has some."

"Good point."

"Leoben made the decision not to accompany the mission team. Since he has no memories of the homeworld, he's afraid he'd prove to be a liability rather than an asset. The more I've thought about it, the more I agree with him. The last thing the mission needs is a reluctant team member."

"What makes you think Natasi is any more eager?"

"I told her she could take Gaius back to their homeworld when everything is settled. She in turn told John that I'd said he was going to be sent back there with D'Anna after her child is born. Romo is my witness. I said no such thing, but I'm not sure John believes me. He's…I don't know if he's confused or what's wrong with him. One moment he seems almost like the man I married and the next minute I hardly know him. I don't understand what's going on with him."

"I'm the wrong person to ask, Laura. Parker is the one who's spent the most time with John. Most of what I get is filtered through his eyes. I've talked to John. We've shared a few drinks. He seems like the man I remember. I think he'll be fine."

"You have that much faith in him?"

"I'm trusting him with the lives of both my sons. That should tell you something."

"That's one of the reasons you agreed to let Kara go, isn't it?"

"She has a skill we need."

"She also owns a big part of John's heart."

Bill got up and went to the sideboard where he poured another drink. "She knows the key players in Hunter's valley. Call her a good-will ambassador. Our men need the complete trust of the valley fighters. Kara is a big part of gaining that trust. They all have a part to play, Laura. We won't be any more ready than we are now. Hunter will get his wedding and honeymoon. I owe him that much. I'm sorry we can't allow him any more time with his bride, but the mission goes the day after he gets back."

...

Lee stood at the front of Elosha's little temple with Hunter standing beside him. The setting sun came through the high windows and bathed the interior in a soft golden glow that was accentuated by the lit candles.

Off to the other side, two musicians played a violin and a harp.

Elosha stood one step behind the railing. She was clad in her finest priestly robes with a beautiful gold brocade turban wrapped around her hair. She looked serious as she always did to him, but she also looked happy the way she had at John and Laura's wedding and at Braedon's dedication and naming ceremony.

John and Bianca sat on the second row. Maya had asked for the first rows on either side of the aisle to be left empty for the family she had lost in the Cylon bombing of Kinsdale, her former home, and also for Hunter's parents.

Conspicuously absent was Laura Roslin. After consulting with Edgar and her security team, they had decided that her presence at the small wedding would entail such a security detail, that it would spoil the intimacy of the occasion. But she had sent the Marble House videographer to record the entire ceremony. She had promised the first copy to Maya, but said she would get the second one. Laura would be hosting the dinner and dance that would be held at Marble House afterward.

Lee glanced over the guests and saw Kendra and Saunders on the row behind John and Bianca. Kara had told him that Natasi had volunteered to keep Rachel even though Gaius Baltar was spending the weekend with her. Natasi had apparently formed quite a bond with the little girl and wanted Gaius to get to know her, too. Major Parker was also on the row behind John. With him were his wife and two children. His son sat beside him. Leah sat on her father's lap. There were four Marines in dress uniform that Lee knew from the mission team. There were people from the staff of Marble House that he knew by sight but not by name. Sharon and Karl were sitting near the back with Hera. He supposed that was so they could quietly slip out if Hera began crying. Bill had told them he couldn't make the wedding but would see them at the reception.

It was almost time for the ceremony to begin when Zak walked in by himself and made his way to the row where his Marine friends sat. He was also in his dress uniform. Zak's solo appearance answered the question about him and Maggie. They must not have been able to work things out…or else they were still working on it.

The processional music began. Lee fought the temptation to check his pocket for Maya's ring. It had been there when he had checked five minutes earlier. Kara appeared at the back of the temple and started slowly down the aisle. She looked like a vision in the dark pink dress with her hair pulled partially back and fastened with a small cluster of flowers. The rest fell in waves and curls around her shoulders. He saw her so rarely dressed up and wearing makeup that her beauty overwhelmed him. He had to take a long, slow breath.

John had told him that on Nereid the Cylon Daniel had painted a portrait of Kara as Persephone, the goddess of spring. Here at the end of the Caprican summer, Lee didn't think he'd ever seen her looking more beautiful. When she'd walked in front of Laura down the same aisle over two years earlier, she'd been a girl. Now she was a woman, a few weeks from her nineteenth birthday. He took another deep breath.

She was smiling at him all the way down the aisle although when she reached John's pew, Lee saw her glance at her father and wink. Braedon might look like his father, but Lee knew that Kara was the child of John's pilot heart. He'd told Kara once that John had given her more than his green eyes. She'd known exactly what he meant.

When Kara got to the front, she turned around to face the guests.

The music changed again and Maya appeared at the back. Everyone stood. Lee heard Hunter take a quick deep breath. All eyes in the temple were on Hunter's bride as she began the short walk to the front. Maya's hair was styled similar to Kara's. The top part was pulled back and was pinned with a small cluster of flowers. The rest of her thick, dark hair cascaded around her shoulders. She wore no veil, but Lee decided that the flowers were perfect for her. Maya's skin was more olive in tone than Kara's and was set off to perfection by the ivory color of the dress. The two women were the goddess of spring and the goddess of the harvest.

To Lee they represented all the best that could be found in life. He hoped Hunter realized how lucky he was.

Maya's eyes never wavered from Hunter or his from her. When Maya reached the front, Hunter stepped up to her. They joined hands.

Elosha raised her arms over them and began the ceremony that had changed little since humans had first joined in marriage on the distant planet of their origins.

"Lords of Kobol, bless the union today of this man and this woman who come before you to join their lives in the ancient ritual of matrimony. Sanctify their hearts with your love and their lives with your blessings."

Lee looked at Kara again and she smiled. Her eyes said it all. Someday this would be them.

"Did you get your little boy to sleep?" Leah Parker asked John.

"Yes, I did…finally. He wanted to stay down here with everyone, but I could tell he was really tired. I didn't want him to have a tantrum."

"There's a girl in my kindergarten class who has tantrums. Her name is Chloe. I don't understand what her problem is. I told her she was too old to be acting like a baby."

John smiled at Brad and Kim Parker. He understood what Brad meant about Leah being five going on twenty.

"What does your teacher do when Chloe has tantrums?" John asked the little girl.

"She has to go to time out. One time her mother had to come to school to get her." Leah's eyes grew wide. "Chloe's mom yelled at the teacher and told her it was all her fault."

"I'll bet you're a good girl in school," John said. "I'll bet you listen to your teacher."

Leah looked proud. "I get a gold star every day."

"You shouldn't brag," Kim said.

"I'm not bragging. I'm telling the truth like Daddy always tells me. He asks people questions and they have to tell him the truth."

Laura walked over and put her hand on John's shoulder. "I hate that you had to leave the dinner with Braedon. Did you get enough to eat?"

John picked up his glass of champagne. "I'm fine. You outdid yourself tonight. Everything is wonderful. Maya and Hunter are a great couple. Lee and Kara are a great couple. Just look at them out there dancing like they don't have a care in the world."

"Would you like to dance with me?"

John smiled at the little girl again. "What do you think, Leah? Should I dance with this beautiful lady?"

"Yes," Leah said. "She's wearing a blue dress like my princess doll. You can be her prince."

John drained the champagne glass, stood and held out his hand to his wife. Everything about today had brought memories of his and Laura's wedding. Now they were going to dance.

They had seen very little of each other over the past month. Both had been busy. On the advice of her security team, Laura's trips outside Marble House and the Capitol Building had been greatly curtailed. Although Edgar had continued to bring Brae out to the airbase several times a week, Laura had not been since the day Braedon had cut his chin. John had called her the next night and the next to ask about their son. On the third night that he'd called, Bill had been there. They hadn't exactly had words, but he had asked her why she had to spend time with Bill after nine o'clock at night. Laura's defensive answer had been that it was often the only time he could bring her up to date on the status of the mission and other issues. John hadn't bought it. He was fairly certain Bill Adama hadn't visited Richard Adar that late at night.

Now Laura was in his arms again and he struggled to pretend that everything was all right with them. She had told him she'd forgiven him for D'Anna and Sonja and yet it didn't feel that way. Something was wrong, but he didn't want to ask again what it was. She'd only tell him nothing.

John finally decided that the deep trust issues that they had both struggled with during the early part of their marriage were back. He'd once thought they'd resolved things, but the specter of Bill and now D'Anna and Sonja had joined them in their dance.

Laura said, "I knew Bill was bringing Marta Shaw tonight, but he called yesterday morning and asked if he could bring an additional person, an old friend from the Galactica. I held my breath. I was afraid he was going to say Saul Tigh which of course meant Ellen. Thank the gods it wasn't Tigh."

"That's Dr. Sherman Cottle. He's here getting in a few days of shore leave before the mission starts. He's the one who stitched up my head on the G. The doc's a good man."

"He certainly seems taken with Bianca."

"I told him she's happily married. I don't think he's making a move on her. I just think he's lonely and enjoys the company of a pretty woman. Besides, they speak the same language."

"Divorced? Widowed? Never married?"

"I asked him if there was a Mrs. Cottle. All he said was 'not in a long time' so either divorced or widowed. He was on the G six years ago while we were fighting the Cylons over Caprica. I met him then."

"Ah, yes," she smiled. "You also met his med tech Lissa, did you not?"

"Thanks for reminding me."

The tension between them increased. John felt it and knew that she did, too. He didn't say anything. He was tired of apologizing and tired of her politely telling him that it was all right. He was tired of her telling him there was nothing between her and Bill when every other sentence out of her mouth seemed to be about the man she had once loved and probably still did.

John suddenly wanted the evening to be over and to get back to the airbase. He wanted to take off his shirt and tie and put on a t-shirt. He wanted to get the one small glass of whiskey that he allowed himself every night. He wanted to turn off the lights and open the drapes and sit in front of the window and watch the distant ships take off and land. He wanted to look at the stars and go over the mission plans one more time in his mind, looking for anywhere they could have made a mistake or a miscalculation. So much was riding on what would happen after they got to Nereid. So many lives would be his responsibility including his daughter's.

He was aware of Laura's soft voice. "Where are you, John?"

He didn't bother to answer, just took a deep breath. He was sure they both knew.

The bride and groom were on their way to Summerhill in the back of a limousine provided by Laura. Lee, Kara, her father and Bill Adama had chipped in and given Maya and Hunter a week at the exclusive resort as a wedding gift.

Most of the guests were gone, departing after showering the newlyweds with birdseed for luck. John and Bianca had left earlier with the Parkers whose sleepy children were already far past their bedtimes.

The members of the small band that had played for the reception were packing their instruments. The kitchen staff and clean-up crew were at work in the huge dining room.

Laura sat with Bill, Marta and Dr. Cottle at a table that had already been cleared. They all had drinks.

Lee and Kara sat with Saunders, Kendra and Zak at a table in the opposite corner. Lee had gotten a second piece of wedding cake before the leftovers were taken back to the kitchen.

"Little piggy," Zak teased his brother and then looked at Kara. "He's eaten enough tonight to feed a family of four for a week."

"Since when do you monitor my food intake?" Lee asked. "Besides, this is good cake. You better enjoy it while you can. It might be a long time before you eat cake like this again."

"I won't miss the cake," Zak said. He poured the last champagne from the bottle on the table into his glass. "But I might miss this stuff."

"You won't get that in the valley," Kara said. "But they brew some really good mead."

Zak snickered. "I guess you would know. I'm sure you and Hunter drank enough of it while you were there."

"Damned straight. That's all everybody in the valley does. Drink mead and party. The crops plant themselves. The sheep shear themselves. Fish jump right out of the lake…"

"Easy on the sarcasm," Saunders said.

"You'll find out," Kara said to Zak. "Somebody just might hitch you to a plow."

Kendra laughed. "I'd pay a lot of cubits to see that."

"Children, children, quit bickering," Lee said after he swallowed the last mouthful of cake.

"I think you missed a couple of crumbs," Zak said. "Go ahead and lick the plate. I promise not to laugh…much."

"I've been working out," Lee said defensively. "I haven't gained a single pound."

Kara echoed. "My man has a great bod. Nice and hard-muscled in all the right places."

"Too much info," Zak said.

"Jealous," Lee shot back.

Kara said, "What say we give these nice cleaning people a break and call it a night? It's after midnight. Time for the maid of honor to kick off her shoes and get comfortable."

Kendra stifled a yawn. "You got my vote."

They all stood. Zak said, "There used to be a time when I was just starting to party at midnight."

"And then you joined the Marines and became a wimp," Lee joked.

"I highly resent the slur on my honor, sir. I demand satisfaction. We duel at dawn. Pistols or sabers. Your choice."

Saunders had his arm around Kendra. "None of us will be up at dawn. Can we drop you off somewhere?"

"I'm staying at Dad's apartment tonight. I've got to wait for him. I just hope he doesn't decide to ditch his date tonight and…" he seemed to realize what he was about to say and stopped.

Kara stepped in front of him. "Decide to what?"

"Nothing. Just running my mouth."

"That better be all the hell you were doing. Just because I'm wearing a dress doesn't mean I can't kick your butt. I did it once."

Lee put his arm firmly around her and held her. "Back off, Kara. Zak didn't mean anything."

"We're leaving," Kendra said. "I hate the sight of blood. It was a great wedding. Great reception. We had fun."

"We're glad you made it," Lee said. "I'm sure Maya and Hunter are, too."

Saunders winked at Kara. "Invite us to the next one."

After they were gone, Zak said, "Well, aren't we all awkward now? I'll just see if I can go break up the grown-ups. Dad doesn't need to knock back any more whiskey tonight."

"I don't think he's the only one who needs to lay off the booze," Kara said. "But then I guess you're both drinking to hide your broken hearts." Zak looked at her and suddenly Kara felt a wash of pity for him. "I'm sorry," she said. "Zakie, I'm really sorry."

"So it's Zakie now? Well, I think there were enough broken hearts to go around tonight. It doesn't take a genius to notice that your father's wife is sitting at a table drinking with my dad and your dad left two hours ago to go back out to the airbase and his Cylon or should I say Cylons…plural."

Kara didn't think. She swung. Only the fact that Lee still had his arm around her waist and managed to pull her off balance kept the blow from firmly connecting to Zak's jaw. Her fist barely grazed him.

There was a sudden silence in the room. All eyes including the cleaning crew were on them.

"Okay, that's enough," Lee said harshly. "Zak, that is clearly none of your business. You need to go."

Zak didn't say a word, just turned and walked toward his father's table.

Lee pulled Kara out of the dining room and past the security guards in the hall. She was trembling with anger.

In the elevator she said, "That son of a bitch."

"Stop it. Zak was wrong to say what he did, but he's still my brother. And I'm sure he didn't say anything that others haven't thought."

"My father is not frakking either one of those Cylons."

"I know he's not. Zak knows it, too. He's hurting. Can't you see that?"

"And my father's not? He's responsible for our mission. D'Anna isn't doing so great. He's worried about their baby, and Laura is giving him the cold shoulder."

"They were dancing together tonight."

"One dance. One lousy frakking dance. She danced with you. She danced with Hunter. She danced with Dr. Cottle. She danced with your father…a couple of times. Bitch."

The elevator doors opened and they walked down the hall to Kara's room.

Inside Kara shut the door. "It wouldn't be so bad if Dad didn't still love Laura so much. All he wants is to be with her and Brae and for them to be a family again and she's treating him like he's got some kind of social disease. Maybe we should call it Cylonitis."

"Don't give up on them, Kara." Lee put his arms around her. "This mission won't last forever. If they've got problems, they need to work them out. You're not going to help things by treating Laura like everything is her fault. There might be a lot you don't know."

The fight went out of her and she realized suddenly how tired she was, physically and emotionally. She turned around hastily and lifted her hair. "Unzip my dress. Let's go to your apartment tonight. I want to get out of here before Laura shows up and starts asking questions. The way I feel right now there's no telling what I might say to her."

Lee unzipped the dress and Kara stepped out of it. She left it on the floor as she grabbed a pair of jeans out of a drawer and pulled them on. Lee picked up the dress and found a hanger in the closet.

"There's no need to be so careful with it," Kara said. "Bridesmaid dresses only get worn once."

Out in the hall she said, "Let's take the back stairs. I don't want to run into Laura at the elevator."

In the parking lot she asked him if he was okay to drive.

"I wasn't swilling champagne the way some people were."

They got in the car and Lee pulled her into his arms. He held her as best he could in the bucket seats. "Damned gearshift," she muttered. "Damned console."

"I know how to fix that." He started the engine and backed out of the parking space. "There's no gearshift or console at my apartment. We're not going to talk about this anymore tonight. We'll wait until tomorrow. Everything always looks better in the morning."

Kara huddled in the seat. She wanted to make love and then she wanted to sleep in his arms. She felt like she could sleep for days. She wished she could go to sleep and wake up and it would all be over. She wished a lot of things that couldn't possibly happen by sleeping them away.

But Lee was right. She would feel better in the morning. She could face Laura and keep her mouth shut in the morning.

"I love you," she said to him. "Sometimes I don't know why you put up with me."

He reached over and grasped her hand. "Because I love you, too. And you've put up with plenty from me."

"What was that all about, son?" Bill asked Zak as he approached the table and pulled out a chair.

"Nothing. Just fooling around."

"It didn't look like you were fooling around," Laura said. "It looked like Kara came very close to hitting you."

Zak picked up the champagne bottle on the table and poured the last of it into his glass.

"Just a little misunderstanding. You know how high-strung those fighter pilots are. It doesn't take much to set them off. We're cool. Tell her I'm sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it."

"What did you say?" Bill asked.

Zak shook his head. He obviously didn't intend to tell them. "Are you guys about ready to go? If not, I'll take a transport."

"We'll go," Bill said. "It's been a long day for everyone."

Laura walked to the portico with them where Bill had a car and driver waiting. "I'm very glad you could join us tonight," she said to them.

"It was our pleasure," Marta said. "Maya looked absolutely stunning and Hunter is such a handsome young man. I wish them all the best."

Laura shook Cottle's hand. "I'm so glad I got a chance to meet you. I appreciate the care you gave John. He thinks very highly of you."

Cottle nodded. "He's a good man. He's had more than his share of grief."

"Yes, he has."

Bill didn't say anything, but he took Laura's hand and briefly squeezed it.

She watched the car drive off and then went back inside and straight up to Kara's room where she knocked several times on the door. Getting no answer, she went to her room and called the gatehouse at the exit of the parking lot.

"Did Lee and Kara leave a short while ago?"

"Yes, ma'am. About five minutes ago."

"Thank you."

Slowly Laura walked down the hall to her son's bedroom. He and Esmari were sleeping soundly in their cribs. Mrs. Blythe who helped Maya during the day was sleeping in Maya's bed. The children were safe. She gently touched Braedon's soft brown hair and felt the love well up in her. She believed that she had forgiven John for D'Anna and the child and for his relationship with Sonja, but things were still not right between them. He'd all but accused her of having an affair with Bill. She tried not to despair that they would never be able to work out their problems.

She leaned over and gently kissed her sleeping son. Then she slowly and sadly walked back to her own bedroom and her empty bed.

...

The Heavy Raider had been stripped of everything that wasn't necessary to make it fly. So had the Raider. The two ships stood side by side on the tarmac near the runway at the boneyard. It was noon and the late summer sun was hot. Several knuckledraggers were loading gear and supplies into the Heavy Raider. They were being supervised by both Kevin Abinell and Dr. Rafferty.

The mission team was assembled inside the hangar. Kara, John and Lee were wearing flight suits. The Marines and Hunter were in camouflage BDUs. Natasi wore a black turtleneck and black pants. John and Hunter were at the front. John had taken a marker and written the sequence of events on a whiteboard…as if that was really necessary. In the last week they'd been over this so many times that Kara was rehearsing it in her sleep.

She knew the names of the five Marine team members, but nobody called them by their names. They all went by nicknames, their equivalent of call signs. Flash, Bug, Mars, Shark and Chop.

They were all in their twenties and all extremely fit. There were four corporals including Zak and one sergeant. There was a demolition expert, a communication expert, a weapons expert, an underwater expert and a martial arts expert. Zak aka Mars was the weapons expert although they had all cross-trained to some extent to do the job of any of the others.

She had met them earlier in the week at the start of the intense mission briefings. None of them knew about her previous recon missions to the planet. They had looked at her with skepticism at first. She could feel it. They probably thought she'd gotten the job because John was her father. She didn't care. They treated John and Hunter with a tremendous amount of respect. That's all that mattered to her.

Natasi stood off a little from the others. Kara barely glanced at her. She had disliked Natasi from the beginning and resented her presence on the mission. Her father had made it clear to all of them early during the planning that she was there to help them and though he couldn't make them treat her as a comrade, he damned well expected no overt hostility or disrespect from any of them. For several weeks Kara had watched her father interact with Natasi, looking for anything that would indicate a relationship beyond that of a professional one. With an increasing sense of relief she saw nothing beyond the respect that John showed the other team members. Only once had something happened that had flustered him a little bit. Her father had been talking about places to hide in the city and he'd called her Sonja. It had gotten a sly and knowing smile from Natasi that had only increased Kara's dislike of her. The only thing that gave her any comfort was the knowledge that Natasi was hung up on that two-timing jerk Gaius Baltar who would probably frak a dozen different women while she was gone.

They were one hour from mission start when Kevin came back inside with one of the crewmen. Both were sweating. Kevin's fair skin was flushed from the sun.

"We're two hundred pounds over the weight limit on the Heavy Raider," he said to John. "Every pound makes a difference. You'll burn through too much fuel getting to the jump point."

Kara knew what that meant…too little fuel left to do a lot of maneuvering once they reached the surface of Nereid. There was also the issue of the end of the jump. They were jumping in over the river and below the tree line. Too much weight before John could apply horizontal thrusters might mean he'd wind up in the river. Kevin and Dr. Rafferty had calibrated everything to the pound.

"Damn," John said. "Okay, men, what can we leave behind?"

One of the Marines glanced at Natasi.

She smiled sweetly. "I don't weigh two hundred pounds."

The minutes ticked by while they haggled, no one was willing to leave any of his equipment.

"I could take a man and fifty pounds on the Raider," Kara said. Nine heads including Natasi's swung in her direction. "Would that help?"

They had reached the thirty-minute window when they would either have to confirm a go or scrub the mission for another day. Bill was on the Galactica and was standing by waiting for the mission status.

John looked at Kevin. "Would that do it?"

"That would do it."

"What's the danger to Lieutenant Thrace?" John asked.

"As long as her passenger is careful not to touch anything…"

Kara said, "It will take me a little longer to get airborne, but fuel isn't as big an issue with the Raider."

"I'll do it," Hunter said.

"No. You really need to be with Major Gallagher in case he doesn't remember how to get back to the valley," Kara said. "Lee's the Heavy Raider's co-pilot so he's out." She looked at the five Marines. "Any volunteers? Somebody who's not claustrophobic?"

Zak stepped forward immediately. "I'll do it. I'm shorter than the rest of the guys. I'll fit better."

Kevin and the crewman hurried out to switch what equipment they could to the Raider.

"Okay, let's do it," John said to the men. "Mission is a go."

There was nothing left to say. They all exited the hangar.

Zak walked beside her out to the Raider. "About last Saturday night…"

"Not now, Zak. You can apologize all you want once we reach the valley."

He grinned. "Who says I was going to apologize?"

"And don't puke in my Raider, either."

"Who says I'm going to puke?"

"Jumping affects some people that way."

John and Lee caught up with them.

"Follow the plan," John started.

"I got it, Dad," Kara said. "It's tattooed on my brain."

She and Lee shared a long and meaningful look then she looked at her father. "See you both in the valley."

"God go with you, baby," her father said.

"You, too."

Then she turned and boosted herself through the hatch into the Raider and forgot about everything except her part of the mission. She positioned herself carefully and started through the pre-flight check of all her systems. It was hot inside the ship and the flight suit made her hotter. Moisture began to bead on her skin. Zak climbed aboard. Kevin closed the hatch and spun the wheel from the outside. The hatch indicator showed the pressure seal had engaged.

"Lords of Kobol," Zak said. "It looks bigger from the outside."

"Sorry you volunteered?"

"I can handle it."

"We won't be in here all that long. Hunter handled it like a man and he's really claustrophobic."

"What do I do if I need to pee?"

"Hold it."

Zak started laughing and she elbowed him in the ribs.

"Now, my feet are on the rudder pedals so keep your feet away from mine. Don't ask questions or touch anything. In fact, don't talk to me at all until we're in the valley. I've got to concentrate. I can't give you flying lessons."

"You're the boss."

She switched on her wireless which Kevin had tuned to match a frequency in the Heavy Raider.

"All systems check. Waiting on a go," she said since she would take off and jump first.

The flight corridor they would follow from the boneyard to the ocean had been cleared of all air traffic.

The minutes ticked by. The sweat ran down her face and prickled her scalp under her braid.

The wireless crackled. She heard her father's voice. "Sadie, you are a go."

Kara fired the vertical thrusters and watched the monitor until she was twenty feet off the ground and stabilized before she fired the horizontal thrusters. They began moving forward and climbing. Watching her instruments she stayed in the narrow flight corridor until she saw the ocean.

"Sadie is feet wet," she said as soon as she was over the water.

When she was five miles out at sea and twenty thousand feet in altitude, she keyed the wireless one last time before turning it off. They were jumping onto Nereid with all communications dark.

"Jumping in five," she said, killed the communication system and started counting down.

Kara's ship was a blip on the Heavy Raider's dradis, but John also had a visual. She was approximately two miles ahead of him when he got the transmission and then her communication channel registered nothing but static. They had just passed the point of no return. There would be no aborting the mission now for any reason. He counted down from five.

Lee was holding his breath when he saw the brief, bright flash, and then the sky was empty. Operation Thunderbolt had begun.

TBC…